NHL Debuts TV Spot Highlighting Competitive History Of The Stanley Cup Final

The NHL yesterday “introduced a television commercial" to celebrate the start of the Stanley Cup Final and "perhaps polish its image at the end of a truncated season,” according to Jane Levere of the N.Y. TIMES. The spot “looks past the lockouts to celebrate, instead, the competitive history that has brought fans to the game.” The ad premiered on YouTube and was “shown during the NBC broadcast" of Bruins-Blackhawks Game 1. It depicts members of “winning and losing teams over seven decades as they line up to shake hands at center ice" at the end of the Final. The spot features “legendary players,” as well as “current stars.” It closes by saying, “It’s not yours until you shake on it.” The spot via Minneapolis-based Mono is the latest in a line of NHL Stanley Cup Final spots "that celebrate the sport’s distinctive traditions.” NHL officials said that they had “conceived the handshake idea for the new spot before the lockout.” The ad will run in the U.S. during the Stanley Cup Final on NBC, NBC Sports Network, NHL Network and RSNs such as FS Southwest, while also running in Canada on the CBC, RDS and Leafs TV. It also will be “posted on the NHL’s Web site and Facebook and Twitter accounts.” The NHL estimated that the media value “for the distribution of all Stanley Cup advertising" -- during the playoffs and Final -- "across all broadcast, digital and social media platforms was between" $25-35M (N.Y. TIMES, 6/13).